Partial view of a gold nanosphere magnified by a factor of one billion. The darker ring shows the "wall" of the nanosphere. (Image: Adam Schwartzberg, Ph.D.; Jin Zhang, Ph.D.)

Article Summary

March 24, 2009 A minimally invasive therapy that could help fight cancer may be on its way with the development of the first hollow gold nanospheres that actively search for and burn tumors. Researchers believe the new technique could prove particularly effective against malignant Melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer responsible for around 48,000 deaths worldwide each year... and numbers are growing.